JNPR: Guardian No More
by AwkwardLaziness
Summary: A student returns to Beacon after recovering from a mission gone awry. Having lost his team he's temporarily assigned to team JNPR much to the dismay of Jaune Arc who's already got enough troubles of his own. JNPR Centric but RWBY and friends certainly aren't far away! Rated for possible content! Some OC's Only real pairing is Jaune X Pyrrha right now
1. Fallen Idol

**Disclaimer:**

I do not own RWBY or any of the cast of characters. Full credit goes to Monty Oum and Roosterteeth.

This will be a team JNPR centric-fiction but team RWBY will be close at hand along with other notable characters from the show! Of course like most Fanfictions this is probably going to deviate and have some discrepancies and liberties taken, but that's what's great about this type of stuff right?

Updates will probably come every one to two weeks, and I'll try to keep them consistent, however I work full-time, am on my second year of Electrical, and generally lead a busy life I don't really sit down to write more than a few hours a night if at all.

 **Synopsis:**

One year before team RWBY and JNPR were formed...

First Year Raiden Arma was a Future Hunter of Beacon Academy, possessing both excellent grades and top class combat skills he had a very bright and promising future ahead of him. When teams were formed he became a member of team GRDN (Guardian), one of the most talented teams Beacon had ever seen. His teammates Dodge Blau, Noble Evergreen, and Leader Gris Panzern, were just as talented, and together they stood at the top of the entirety of the first years. Unfortunately fate often deals a cruel hand, and one tragic day team GRDN was all but annihilated in a freak accident that would that cost Raiden the vision in his left eye, his arm and the lives of his teammates Dodge and Noble. Now months after rehabilitation and intense retraining the young upstart has returned to Beacon, after negotiations with Professor Ozpin, as a late enrollment into the first year. Left alone, rebuilt, and refocused, Raiden has had a dark change in his outlook, the bright future he once strove towards is now dark and fueled by something beyond hate and vengeance alone. Is there any salvation for one who's discarded their shield and vows of protection for a path of reckless danger and self destruction?

* * *

 **RWBY** **JNPR** **: Guardian No More**

 _Volume 1, Episode 1:_ "Fallen Idol"

* * *

"High Guard- Low Guard- Stab- Cross Slash- Parry- Disengage-!"

Jaune Arc complied with the orders barked at him, jerky movements, and half-hearted telegraphed attacks. Each strike of the Javelin against his shield nearly rocked him out of position, the parry itself being the momentum that 'disengaged' the blonde, knocking him to his rear with a dull thud. He let out an exhausted sigh, leaning forward onto his knees, turning his head to face the ground so his sparring partner didn't get a clear view of his self pity. Whether or not his teammate picked up on his actions couldn't be discerned as she reached over to his arm and lifted him to his feet.

"You're looking better all the time Jaune, you just need to be more sure of yourself," Pyrrha Nikos assured him emphasizing her reinforcement with a light squeeze to his arm, "Attack and move with purpose, with confidence. You can't be serious in a fight if you do it half-heartedly."

Jaune sighed again, shield folding into place at his side before he sheathed his sword, "Thanks Pyrrha, I'll keep that in mind," he answered lifting his head with a small smile for the crimson haired woman to see.

For a moment the two simply exchanged smiles, nearly oblivious to the approach of the rest of team JNPR, though not for long as Nora bound over excitedly waving her arms in the air as if it would get their attention quicker. "Oh Leeeeaaaaadddeeerrr!~" she called out in a sing song voice, hopping to a stop just in front of Jaune and Pyrrha, "I just got wind of really, really, really, big news!" The girls excitement was practically overflowing, it wasn't often she got to hear about super secret information nobody knew about first! She wasn't even going to wait for the rest of her team to guess, how were they supposed to be able to guess in the first place? "We're getting a train."

Pyrrha blinked, "A train?"

Nora replied with an enthusiastic nod, though Lie Ren took the moment of silence to cut in, "Nora you don't really know if that's what it means."

"Yes I do!" she replied indignantly, "I heard Professor Ozpin very clearly, that we 'can expect the rail in today', I was only walking past but he was talking to Ms. Goodwitch near the library," to emphasize her point she simply stuck her tongue out at Lie Ren with a playful smile.

"A TRAIN!?" Jaune finally broke out, "Oh that's so awesome! Maybe it'll be a line between the dorms and the main building so I can sleep in a little bit more!"

"I can't wait to go for a ride on it!" Nora beamed joining Jaune in his day dreaming.

Lie and Pyrrha stood by and watched, Lie clearly looking less than interested in the two's delusions, nor was he convinced Nora was right. She had a habit of hearing what she wanted to hear or ignoring facts outright. "Guys, let's get going to class already," he called out to them before turning on his heel and back towards the main building. An instant later Nora was right by his side giggling to herself with the occasional train noise thrown in, clearly elaborating to her best friend the different things she was going to do once the new train arrived.

* * *

The campus was a buzz that day, something big was going to be happening, and from what most of team RWBY had gathered it had something special to do with the First Years. Of course, of the team only Ruby and Yang seemed to care to any significant degree, Yang furiously interrogating anyone she got her hands on for any information they knew and Ruby endlessly speculating on what it could mean for First Years. Weiss, however was less than impressed or enthusiastic, stating simply that they didn't need to concern themselves since if it really mattered there would be an announcement of some sort eventually. Blake didn't seem to worry either way, instead she simply kept to her book, occasionally peeking out from over top the pages at Yang and Ruby's antics. The morning break flew by in a hurry, and eventually the team found themselves in their homeroom class. The room was also filled with chatter about the so called 'surprise' at Beacon. The general consensus seemed to be that some sort of event was about to be announced.

Taking a seat in the row ahead of Jaune, Ruby leaned back to talk with him before the day officially started, "Hey Jaune, you hear anything about what's going on today?"

Jaune beamed at her, "Did I! Brace yourself Ruby, because this is big, really big."

"Uh-huh."

"Beacon is getting it's very own, super, duper, ultra cool, TRAIN!"

"Huh?"

"Yeah you heard me, a train! Nora over heard Professor Ozpin and Ms. Goodwitch this morning."

Yang leaned in close, a skeptical expression, "Are you guys sure? Don't you need tracks and stations?"

"Yep." Lie sighed apparently having been listening in the whole time.

Before Jaune could come up with a any reasoning the morning bell rang and on the final chime, Glynda Goodwitch entered the room. Her sharp gaze was enough to usher silence as usual and without missing a beat she started the day, "Good morning class," she greeted formally, "Before I start it seems like you are all aware of the newest addition to Beacon," she pressed a small button on her data terminal and the classroom door swung open slowly. A male student with jet black hair and tanned skin strode into the room taking up a spot next to Glynda, "This is Raiden Arma, a late enrollment into Beacon."

Once his name was mentioned the room hummed with whispers for a brief moment until Glynda interrupted with a firm voice, "He has not been assigned to a team yet, but he will still be attending classes like the rest of you, he may be joining you on training missions as an additional member of your respective teams, be sure to acquaint yourselves on your own time. Mr. Arma, please take a seat."

Jaune took a moment to sigh, audibly voicing his disappointment, "Aww not a train,"

Once class ended Ms. Goodwitch promptly exited the room, leaving them to their devices. A small silence went over the room as most of the eyes went on the new student, who'd sat through their first lecture silent and without making eye contact with anyone else in the room. Then without a word Raiden rose from his seat and made his way out of the classroom. A moment later the four members of team CRDL followed suit.

Yang was the first to speak up, "Cute but he doesn't seem like mister personality or anything."

"Tell me about it," Ruby muttered, "He didn't do anything or say anything, he just stood there and... well, he just stood there until he sat down." The rest of the group seemed to agree, not really needing to say more on the matter.

"HEY WE'RE TALKING TO YOU-!" The voice of Cardin Winchester boomed just outside of the classroom door. The members of team JNPR and RWBY gave each other worried glances before making their way to the door to investigate. Just outside of the classroom and in the hall, team CRDL surrounded the new student with Cardin at the front looking quite annoyed.

"Think you're too good for us or something?" Cardin spat, "Huh?"

Raiden simply stared at him, a blank though uninterested expression painted on his face. When Cardin went to grab the front of his uniform he simply held a hand out in front of him, a lazy block of the taller boys hand, "I'm not interested in associating with the weak, get out of my sight."

It was a simple and easily read goading but Cardin took the bait. He growled furiously and sent his fist flying towards Raiden's face. In an instant a dark wave of cold spread from the new student and as the blue hue to his eyes darkened, his aura appeared, dark and gray, spiraling in a monochrome pinwheel in front of Cardin's fist, blocking the blue entirely. A second later his aura lashed out, knocking the taller boy hard against the wall. A hushed silence fell over the crowd, even as the rest of the members of team CRDL tensed and readied themselves to attack en masse. Raiden clenched his fist, his aura seeming to respond as it settled into an visible glow around his body as h turned to face the three remaining members with a withering glare, "Don't waste my time anymore than you already have, just get your weakling of a leader out of my sight."

* * *

Ruby Rose stood just as awed as the rest of the students watching the altercation, silver eyes wide and mouth slightly agape. She had almost jumped in earlier but Yang had stopped her with a firm grip on his wrist, and whether or not it was an instinctual reaction from the dark aura that surrounded Raiden at the time, Ruby was glad for her older sisters intuition. Though while others stood by in wonder, Lie Ren looked on with a concerned frown, gaze fixated entirely on Raiden. It seemed at least Jaune noticed it as well as he recoiled back into the class room.

"Hey guys, let's make a little room huh?" He suggested in a whisper that was already too loud for its own good given the absolute silence the crowd was in. At this point Cardin was getting to his feet, fighting off the assistance of his fellow team members despite his shaky form, no doubt the attack had been more than a simple strike from Raiden's aura.

"Mother fu-" Cardin started to utter a curse, his own aura flickering to life only to be cut off.

"I think that will about do here," an even voice drifted over the students from down the hall. Professor Ozpin walked forward flanked by Glynda Goodwitch as usual, stopping just outside of the gathered crowd his brown eyes resting on the raven haired student at the center of the crowd. "I'm not one to stop fights but you're damaging my school Mr. Arma," he stated coolly, "And Mr. Winchester, I don't concern myself with how you carry yourself around your fellow students, but as a future hunter you should learn to pick your battles."

Professor Ozpin didn't bother to look around at the rest of the students though Glynda seemed to have that covered already, piercing gaze scanning each and every one of the students present, "That is that, I'm sure the rest of you have much more productive things to do on your breaks," she stated with a dry tone that was more of a warning to disperse immediately than a simple statement.

"Mr. Arma I have business with you," he nodded to the new student and turned to leave and then as if an afterthought, he looked over his shoulder and into the classroom raising his voice loud enough to be clearly heard, "Ms. Rose and Mr. Arc, please come along and join us as well." With that he walked off, Raiden following close behind flanked by Glynda, none of which seemed overly concerned whether or not Ruby and Jaune were going to follow.

Jaune panicked, "Huh? We didn't do anything did we? Oh... don't tell me we were supposed to save the new guy from the resident jerk!"

Blake shook her head, "You're both team Leaders, maybe he just wants to give you some information at the same time."

"Ugh, you're such a baby just go already and find out," Weiss admonished the leader of team JNPR, clearly unimpressed with his lack of a backbone.

Ruby nodded to the rest of her team, grabbing Jaune by the front of his chest plate and dragging him forward. She was just a nervous as he was but decided on a brave front after Blake and Weiss spoke up, "Come on Jaune, if we are in trouble the last thing we want to be is late."

"Why couldn't it have just been a train?"

* * *

"Well, that was quite the first impression to make."

Raiden only nodded in response though respectfully, standing fully at attention as the Professor spoke. Despite his handling of the situation earlier he wasn't one to disrespect someone like Professor Ozpin, though unlike most of the students of Beacon Academy it as for more than just his position as Headmaster. Even then he knew that this wasn't so much a half baked lecture as to the man's fishing at Raiden's position.

"I'm sure you're well aware of my expectations by now. I don't hold my students by the hand, Beacon is a place where you make the journey. The instructors and I are merely here as tools or resources for yourselves," he leveled his eyesight with Raiden's, his gaze growing serious for a moment, "Just remember that everything has a consequence Mr. Arma. I won't pretend you're ignorant to your own choices, but you're treading a dangerous path... I pray you don't lose your soul to it."

"Sir," Raiden acknowledged before a knock at the door drew both of their attention.

"Come in Ms. Rose, Mr. Arc," Professor Ozpin called.

Ruby and Jaune stepped in nervously, both glancing between Raiden and Professor Ozpin, Glynda followed behind them data terminal in hand. When she shut the door behind the two they both jumped a little, clearly startled, though the Professor merely gave an amused smile.

"I assure you you're not in trouble, so calm down a little," Jaune let out a loud relived sigh, Ruby doing a much better job in hiding her own through a deep breath."You've already been introduced to Mr. Arma here, correct?"

They both nodded.

"Good. Currently there are no teams in need of replacement members and given that we don't normally allow these sorts of things to happen I decided to make an exception in this case. That said, many of our activities here are team oriented and because his temporary dorm is a spare room in your teams' wing, I have decided to assign him temporarily under team JNPR. Since this is a special situation and team RWBY is scheduled to participate in the co-op trials with Team JNPR this is your chance as Leaders to ask any questions you may have." The silence that followed seemed enough for Professor Ozpin, "Very well, that is all."

Jaune exited the room in a hurry followed by Ruby and Raiden who seemed to be in much less of a rush to escape. Glynda watched the trio leave and once the door shut behind them she turned back to the Professor, "Are you sure leaving him under Jaune Arc is the best idea? I don't think he'll be able to reign him in."

* * *

Jaune sighed to himself once the door clicked shut behind him. Why did it have to be him of all people? He was still having issues adapting to being the Leader of Team JNPR, how was he supposed to figure out what to do with someone so scary? Still, he had to do something, at least exert a bit of confidence in front of him. Turning he extended a hand to Raiden, "Looks like we'll be working together from here on out, I'm Jaune Arc, nice to meet you."

His extended hand was met with an uninterested stare though Raiden did have the courtesy to nod, "So it seems," he responded.

Ruby flashed Jaune a reassuring smile before jumping in, "And I'm Ruby Rose, leader of Team RWBY!" Her enthusiasm was met with another simple nod.

For an awkward moment the three stood in silence outside of the Headmasters office before Raiden finally broke the stalemate. "I'm going to class," he informed both of them and strode off. Once he rounded a corner and the sounds of his footsteps could be heard a good distance way Jaune leaned against the wall with a groan.

"That went great. Now I have some guy who is scarier and stronger than Cardin ON my team. ThisissobadwhatamIgoingtodoaboutit!?"

Ruby reached over to pat Jaune on the shoulder, "C'mon big guy, it's not that bad, he didn't actually glare at us right? Maybe it's just.. an off day?" The suggestion wasn't too far off for her, she understood how it was to be a little socially inept, her first couple of days at Beacon had been full of problems on a social level. Jaune didn't seem to buy into it as easily, though he did seem to calm down. "Let's get to class."

* * *

"Can't say I envy those guys having him on their team, he's definitely strong but he seemed a bit intense," Yang mused, legs kicking behind her as she flipped through a magazine on her bed. Team RWBY had gathered in their dorm after their classes for the day had ended, since Ruby and Jaune had taken so long during their break to get back to class they had had the chance to discuss the news regarding Raiden in detail until now.

"At least we're not stuck with him," Weiss commented as she inspected her rapier's blade dismissing the issue altogether it seemed.

Blake nodded in agreement, "I had a bad feeling about him, his aura was really strange," for the moment her book was folded and placed on the shelf beside her.

Ruby hopped off of her bed, "Right? Normally you get a warm feeling from it but his was cold and well, dark."

Weiss frowned, "Look, he's just strong don't get intimidated, I'm sure Professor Ozpin wouldn't have let him enroll if he thought he'd be dangerous right?"

"You're right," Ruby agreed feeling better about it, "Just over thinking things."

Blake raised a brow and picked up her book once more, flipping to her saved page, "As usual."

Meanwhile, in the Team JNPR dorm...

"Jaune it will be fine, you said it yourself, he didn't glare at you or anything," Pyrrha reassured him like she normally did, watching as he paced back and forth in their room. Nora was making a game of counting how many cycles he was going for, making herself comfy on Lie's bed rather than her own. Lie on the other hand seemed to be tuning out the conversation fully immersed in a data terminal at a desk in the corner of the room.

"I don't even know anything about him, what he likes, what he does, otherthankickingCardin'sbuttwhichwasprettycool, and I don't think he's going to really say anything either. You should have seen it Pyrrha, he was like a statue, just standing there all cold and stoic and not talking." He went on to explain the interaction.

"I can tell you a bit about him if you want," Lie's voice cut in on Jaune's rant. Nora shifted her attention to Lie now, bounding over to drape herself over Lie's shoulder, poking at the data terminal to expand a picture. Four boys clad in armor and brandishing their weapons were seen holding a trophy to some team tournament, Raiden was among them with shorter hair and a pair of bladed shields.

"Oh~" Nora cooed as she looked over the enlarged image, "That's Beacon right?" By this time Jaune and Pyrrha had made their way over as well and the entire team now stood around the data terminal.

Lie nodded and pulled up the file he'd been viewing once more, "Turns out he's not just a late enrollment, he's a re-enrollment. As in he attended Beacon Academy last year but for some reason didn't complete his first year."

"Why not? Jaune queried.

Pyrrha pointed to a small underlined piece of text, "Medical emergencies apparently. I guess something happened?"

"Right, but it doesn't specify, it just points out that he dropped out of the Academy shortly before the finals," Lie affirmed.

"What about the other guys in the picture with him?" Nora wondered, "Are they all second year students now?"

Lie shook his head, "No. Check this out," he told them and brought up a small roster list from the year before, pulling up a team titled: GRDN. Clicking the link he brought up a set of four names, the teams members: Gris Panzern [Withdrawn], Raiden Arma [Withdrawn], Dodge Blau [Deceased], and Noble Evergreen [Deceased].

Jaune sucked in a deep breath, "Whoa, no wonder he's so intense. Do you think whatever happened to his team is related to the medical emergency?"

"Probably," Lie responded browsing a few more notes before looking over to Jaune, "Whatever happened was probably pretty bad. More importantly, it's pretty obvious the change he went under from when he first started here to us seeing him today. His aura is also worrisome."

"I agree," Pyrrha tacked on, there was no doubt about it, it was channeling on the darkness."

Jaune raised a hand, "What do you mean?"

"Remember when I first told you about aura?" Pyrrha began, "There are two sides, Dark and Light, we all have both inside of us, however like most we channel the Light, Raiden does not seem to, in fact, I'm certain he's channeling the Dark part."

"Is that really bad? If we have a bit of both in us, doesn't that just mean he's just using a different source?"

Pyrrha shook her head, "The source matters most, our will, our focus, it all determines a lot of things. While I don't know the full extents, there is a reason those who channel dark aura's are virtually unheard of."

"Even so... look how bright that smile was in his picture," Nora pointed out, once against looking over the picture of team GRDN, "someone who can smile like that can't be all that bad. I think he could be really nice."

Lie seemed to soften at this, "I'd keep an eye out, but Nora is right, we can't just make assumptions before we've even had a chance to get to work with him."

"You guys are right, I'll give it a shot, plus he's strong right? We'll have lots of time soon to get some team practices in, I'll try talking to him tomorrow." Jaune decided with a firm nod to reinforce his self confidence.

* * *

Episode 1 End!

Sort of short but I wanted to get the prologue-y sort of stuff out of the way first and kind of adjust myself to the characters. Sort of trying to keep these in similar intervals which means some chapters will be short snippets and others longer. Call it a personal experiment.

Anyways, thanks for reading!

Reviews please! If you have suggestions or just general feedback I'd love to hear it.


	2. Faded

**Disclaimer:**

I do not own RWBY or any of the cast of characters. Full credit goes to Monty Oum and Roosterteeth.

 **RWBY** **JNPR** **: Guardian No More**

 _Volume 1, Episode 2:_ **"Faded"**

* * *

If there was one obstacle that was going to remain constant in Raiden's return to Beacon it was going to be how he would deal with his former peers. It was only his first day returning and it was already something well known around the Academy. Having already spent nearly a full year at Beacon already he knew how fast word traveled, even then he'd thought it would have been possible to buy himself a few days if he kept it low key. He'd already retreated back into the main building once he was a group of his former class mates heading his way, taking refuge on the rooftop above the central dormitories.

At least the quiet isolation the roof provided was pleasant enough, no one to question him or make half-ass greetings, no one about to approach him offering pity and hollow words of encouragement. He didn't care what they had to say at this point, what they had to offer, he wasn't back to make new friends or re-establish ties with old ones. Of course, if his resolve had truly been that hardened he wouldn't have retreated like he had, fled to the rooftop, hiding away rather than facing them head on. He grit his teeth at the thought, it was too late to be having these sorts of weaknesses.

He lingered for a long while, hiding away throughout the afternoon and beyond the sunset, and as darkness blotted out the remnants of the sun-touched sky the first stars began to shine. Given the time he'd spent he took the tiny specks of light appearing as his signal to make his way back to his room, but as he cracked open the rooftop entrance he was greeted by a familiar face, one he had hoped would be the last person in the academy to seek him out. Orange-red eyes focused on his face as their owned stepped forward out of the poorly lit staircase, her porcelain skin and flaming red hair lighting up in the moonlight, a pair of pointed ears twitched slightly. Her approach forced him into a retreat, and as she stalked his steps nothing was said, she simply stared at him expectantly. It was Raiden who broke eye contact first, shutting his eyes and turning away from the girl.

"So it was you," she finally broke the silence between them stopping once he turned away from her.

A moment passed before he replied to her, finally looking back and meeting her gaze, "Yes."

The faunus' clenched a fist, "Why?" At their distance he could sense her anger even if her bubbling aura didn't tip him off. Her eyes bore into him mercilessly, searching for a reaction but receiving none. The brief silence was enough for the young man to recompose himself, guarded cold front up like a force field, a harsh cold look returning to his eyes once again. She didn't falter, instead she stepped forward despite having to raise her head to maintain eye contact, "Why didn't you tell us you were coming back?"

His lack of a response caused her to press further, "We were all worried! When you stopped letting us visit in the hospital and then disa-"

"Enough," he finally told her firmly, "Things aren't the same anymore Cerise, there's no reason for you to concern yourself with me any longer."

She reached out to stop him as he moved away but he evaded the action entirely, "Of course there is! We all care-"

"You shouldn't!" He cut her off, voice raised louder than he wanted, "Tch," he turned away from her, stuffing his hands in his uniforms pocket, "just forget that I'm even here," he told her finally as he brushed past without a second glance leaving Cerise on the rooftop alone.

"We're not going to," she whispered after him.

* * *

The excitement of the previous day had died yet to die down the morning after, at least among the first year students at Beacon. The subject as quite a bit different though, going from speculation to gossip, as word of Raiden's confrontation with Cardin had spread around the Academy. Many were surprised given how Cardin excelled in combat, a few were rather impressed, those who'd been bullied by him in the past were rather smug when they talked about it, many feeling it was an embarrassment that was well deserved. When Cardin himself heard about what was being said he threw a fit.

"Cocky bastard, he only got the better of me because he caught me off guard," he fumed as he ground his fist into the palm of his hand.

The rest of his team were in tow as usual though they didn't say much, only vague acknowledgments to what was being said. They were there and they each felt the cold aura surrounding the transfer student, even if Cardin wasn't going to admit it. Of course, given his mood they weren't about to tell him otherwise which left them to simply nod and offer the odd word of encouragement for their team Leader.

It was then that Cardin's brain clicked into gear, "That's it! We've got sparring today, I'll get him then. I won't lose to him in a real fight."

"Why don't we just leave him alone Cardin? Just knock around some big mouths and make 'em regret running their traps?" Russel suggested hopeful that Cardin would accept the alternative. Even if he wouldn't admit it he didn't want to have to face down that ridiculous aura if he could avoid it. Unfortunately for the green haired member of CRDL member their leader wasn't going to have it.

He spun around and glared at his subordinate, "Are you telling me to just let everyone think he's better than me? So what if he's some hot shot from last year, he make the cut and he's back again for a second helping, I'll make him regret it."

* * *

Jaune hated the sparring classes. He never won, he never did really well, and he always ended up sore for the rest of the day after whoever his opponent was finished throttling him. Even when Pyrrha praised him during their small training sessions he never felt much confidence, one of the worst times was when Yang was paired up against him, she beat him so thoroughly that he'd missed the following days classes laying in bed. Now there was someone else to worry about in his class, beyond Yang and Cardin, someone scarier, someone he was supposed to **lead**.

As the clock ran down so did the list of students set for sparring and demonstrations, and as the list grew smaller so did the chances of his name being called. Professor Goodwitch skimmed her portable data terminal, finger running down a list of names, "Jaune Arc,"

"Aw..."

She pressed a button to randomize the selection, "And Cardin Winchester."

"Aw man."

Pyrrha and Ruby looked on sympathetically as Jaune rose to his feet.

"Hold on Ms. Goodwitch," Cardin called out from his seat standing with a cocky grin, "As much as like wiping the floor with Jauney Boy here, I could really go for something more interesting."

Glynda frowned, placing her terminal on the stand in front of her, "Mr. Winchester these matches are randomly determined-"

"So what? That's boring, why don't you give the new guy a shot?" Cardin thrust a finger in Raiden's direction. The raven haired student simply offered a blank stare before turning away with obvious disinterest, the action itself spurned Cardin into anger, "What? Too scared to fight me when I've got a weapon in my hand pretty boy? Heh! No wonder you and your crap team never made it to the second year."

"Cardin, cease and-" Glynda started but was cut off as Raiden responded to the taunt.

"Professor, I'll fight him," he agreed rising to his feet.

Cardin smirked, he'd taken the bait as far as he was concerned, "C'mon Professor, he agreed."

The blond pushed up her glasses looking between the two male students, eyes lingering on Raiden, "I won't-"

"I think this will prove to be rather interesting, I'll approve this," the voice of Professor Ozpin drifted into the room. He took up a spot in front of the class next to Glynda with a small smile on his face, "I hope you don't mind the intrusion Ms. Goodwitch."

She frowned at the Headmaster, but gave in, "It's fine."

Cardin was already in the combat area his mace over his shoulder as he waited for his opponent to join him. Raiden made his way over to Yang's seat, "My equipment is in disarray, if you would allow me, I would like to request the use of one of your gauntlets. I will not break it, "he assured her.

"On one condition," Yang beamed, "You beat that idiots face in good," she told him as she disconnected the gauntlet on her left arm. Quickly she stuck her tongue out at Cardin before handing the item to Raiden who nodded his thank you as he slipped the gauntlet over his hand. He made his way over to the combat zone, leveling his gaze with Cardin's.

Once Raiden stood in position, the match countdown started.

* * *

Battles between warriors within Beacon and other regional tournaments were decided on multiple factors: Skill, Endurance, Aura, and occasionally, Time. Set in specialized combat zones, combatants have their aura output monitored and are required to maintain it as a defensive barrier at all times as a safety regulation. Further, sensors have been better tuned to gauge a warriors internal reserves, and fights generally end with the officiator and combat system determining one party did not have enough aura left to defend themselves. Of course these machines could only really read ones output and provide estimated calculations and there were more than a few critics who lamented the systems inconsistencies.

Aura in itself was not an absolute defense, but compared to the common person it shielded its wielder to great effect, warding off otherwise fatal blows and cushioning extreme force along with augmenting physical abilities depending on the level of skill the user possessed. Most Hunters and Huntress' competing in combat or operating within Beacon are required to possess a moderate level of skill. That said, it wasn't uncommon for some attacks to be more effective than others, skilled manipulators capable of augmenting their attacks to ridiculous levels, some even capable of more or less nullifying the defensive nature of another aura.

Despite himself Raiden was now facing off against Cardin Winchester, and while he regretted it immediately, Cardin had struck a nerve with what was supposedly a simple provocation. Unfortunately while Raiden would have wanted nothing more than to obliterate him in an utterly humiliating fashion, it wouldn't be that simple. Despite his attitude Cardin was a formidable warrior, a natural brawler and a naturally strong aura, and his size wasn't simply for show either, he had strength to spare. In fact the size difference was obvious when they were face to face, a small and lithe form much like Lie Ren or Jaune Arc that came up to Cardin's barrel chest. Raiden was one of many melee combatants that chose to opt out of heavy armor, sporting black leather outlined with dark grays and whites, minimal protection in favor of freedom of movement.

As the countdown dwindled Raiden flexed his left hand, the gauntlet activating as he manipulated it, extending over his fist and rotating its ammunition cartridge with a loud click as it loaded itself automatically. Lowering himself to the ground He took a low stance, legs spread with his free hand holding up his upper body parallel to the ground. Cardin only smirked swinging his mace around in front of him in a sweeping motion showing the ease in which he was able to manipulate the heavy weapon, "Try not to cry when you get hit newbie," he sneered.

The timer hit zero and Glyndas voice cut in with flawless precision, "Begin!"

Raiden was the first to move, charging forward still keeping low to the ground, he closed the distance between them in an instant though Cardin was already swinging. His mace swept across the ground in front of him, a direct course to smash horizontally into Raiden's advancing form, however the massive swing merely swept through the air and Raiden slammed his fist into the ground, triggering a round to fire and propelled himself over head. He vaulted over Cardin's shoulder, gripping the back of his armor to anchor himself directly behind his opponent.

Cardin moved to face Raiden but was halted as Raiden's elbow collided with the back of his knee forcing him to a kneel, "It's too late to beg."

The taunt elicited a growl in response and Cardin rolled forward, a blind swing of his mace behind him as he gained some distance between himself and Raiden, "That's my-" he never got to finish his retort as he barely registered the silhouette in front of him before his open mouth ate a knee. His head flew back, aura flickering from the blow and the screen overhead registered the drop in energy. There wasn't a moment to recover for him, even as he stumbled backwards gaining his bearings, a shotgun enhanced punch doubled him over. He groaned from the force but grit his teeth and slipped sideways, dodging another attack aimed at his face. His sense back, he glared at Raiden and steadied himself, rearing his mace back before charging forward, swinging his weapon with deadly speed and power. He only hit air however, as Raiden danced backwards, gracefully evading each swing until he finally side stepped Cardin like a skilled matador would a charging bull.

Raiden smirked relaxing his stance a little as he waited for Cardin to face him. He advance as Cardin caught his breath, instead he looked away disinterested knowing it would only fuel the others rage, "You're thinking: 'if only I could land a hit', aren't you?" Raiden snorted contemptuously, and across the room Glynda narrowed her eyes, "Want to try it?" He now stood carelessly in the center of the ring, no stance, no guard, arms left hang loosely at his sides.

"Cocky piece of shit, I'll crush you!" Cardin shouted, rage distorting his features as he accepted the challenge, both hands gripping his mace he bull rushed forward, raising the weapon above his head for a full downward smash. He raised his right hand as Cardin's mace neared its mark, and with a heavy dull thud that echoed throughout the room the weapon was halted by his raised hand. Raiden stepped in, slamming his gauntlet encased fist into Cardin's wrist, forcing him to let go of his weapon. Cardin attempted to create some distance between them, but Raiden took hold of his wrist with an iron grip, pulling him forward firmly before driving his fist right into his elbow, and with a sickening crunch forced his arm to bend in an unnatural direction. Cardin howled in pain, releasing his mace entirely, staggering backwards only to find Raiden still had a firm grip on his broken arm, "Sto-"

Raiden shifted the limb in his grasp mercilessly, moving to strike his arm once more without hesitation, a finishing and brutally debilitating blow. Fortunately for Cardin a barrier spell blocked the blow and expanded between the two combatants, forcing them apart. Cardin collapsed to his knees, cradling his arm as he teammates rushed to his side. Professor Ozpin approached the two flanked closely by Glynda who still had her wand at the ready, "That is enough. Team CRDL, see to it that Mr. Winchester gets to the infirmary," he leveled his gaze on Raiden, "I trust you're satisfied?"

By now Raiden's aura had dispersed and he was removing the gauntlet he'd borrowed from Yang, "It was just a sparring match Professor," he responded calmly. Glynda looked over to the Headmaster with uncertainty, but only received a dismissive half smile.

"Very well," he nodded, "Please keep in mind our schools code of conduct Mr. Arma, I'm aware you've been out of touch for a while but they have not changed since you were previously enrolled," for a brief moment his expression hardened, "I expect you'll exercise more restraint in the future."

"Yes sir."

The bell signaled an abrupt end for the class though few students moved. Until Glynda stored her wand once more and clapped her hands together to gain the students attention, "Class is dismissed, make sure to review your notes properly." There was a collective murmur as the room began to buzz to life once more though much quieter than usual. Most eyes were fixated on Raiden, and as the room emptied most of the students made an obvious B line away from him and the Headmaster who stood silently along with him. When the last of the students had exited Yang approached slowly dragging Ruby behind her.

"Ah- Hi!" Yang opened with an enthusiasm the greatly contrasted the two companions she totted unwilling along behind her. The blonde stopped in front of Raiden letting go of her younger sister to playfully punch the male student in the shoulder, "You did great in there! I've been waiting for someone to put Cardin in his place, he's such a jerk."

Raiden held out the borrowed weapon to her merely nodding in response to her praise, "I appreciate your lending me your weapon, if there is any issue with it I'll cover the repair fee's or repair it myself if you would permit it," he briefly looked between Yang and the weapon before the girl took the hint and slipped it back onto her arm.

"I- ah, no, no, don't worry about it, you barely used it, it'll be fine. Tools need to be used right?" she was beginning to feel the weight of the conversation now, and while normally a social person, she could barely register any sort of connection with him, even eye contact felt out of place. She quickly changed the subject, throwing Ruby in front of her to divert the awkwardness, "I'm Yang by the way and this- is my little sister Ruby!"

Ruby paled unsure what to do, she was already socially inept, being on the spot certainly wouldn't help things any. She fidgeted on the spot silently cursing Yang as she struggled to come up with a subject, unfortunately nothing came to mind and instead she ended up spewing her entire story, "I'm Ruby, I'm the leader of Team RWBY. I'm younger than most people in beacon because Professor Ozpin asked me if I wanted to come to Beacon after I stopped some thugs from robbing a dust shop in the city. That doesn't make me special or anything so don't worry I'm just me, Ruby, plain old Ruby- I'm going to stop talking now because Yang really wanted to talk to you and I'm just blabbering on and- YANG!"

Raiden held up a hand to interrupt Ruby, "We were introduced yesterday," he reminded her with an unnerving evenness.  
Ruby raised a hand to the back of her head laughing nervously, "Yes, right, of course!"

"That's my little sister for you," Yang grinned resting an elbow on her little sisters head, hoping to alleviate the awkwardness in the air,"tiny little air head," she teased ignoring her sisters fidgeting beneath her not to mention growing irritation at being the butt end of the teasing. It didn't help that both sisters had a habit of rambling when they were nervous and unsure of a situation, "Really makes you wonder how she's the leader of the team right- Right?"

"YANG THINKS YOU'RE CUTE AND YOU SHOULD GO ON A DATE," Ruby blurted out of no where, finally freeing herself of Yang's weight grinning up at her sister knowingly before sticking out her tongue and retreating back to the rest of the team.

"Wait- what?" Jaune's voice rang out all too clearly in the eerily silent classroom, the leader of JNPR looking between his own team and the remainder of team RWBY hovering nearby for an explanation only to receive none, their faces painted with a look of disbelief at their leaders blatant lie. Unfortunately Ruby's outburst was plenty loud, loud enough that the remainder of the class had stopped to witness the exchange, and as was becoming common lately, a hushed murmur spread across the spectators.

Yang felt her cheeks darken as Ruby's words dawned on her, and as she turned back to Raiden she felt her mouth moving to start a protest though no words came forth. For what seemed to be an eternity she was locked in a terrible starring match with him, but it was he who finally spoke up as he undid his leather armor, "Not interested."

The room hit silence again.

"Wait- what?" this time it was Yang's turn to be confused. She had expected a number of responses, ranging from surprise to an enthusiastic yes to which she'd have to ever so humbly correct the misunderstanding her younger sister had caused. His blatant rejection though... it struck a nerve, one she wasn't aware she had, one she'd never been forced to deal with.

"Not interested," he repeated before stepping away from her, "... thanks for letting me borrow your weapon though," he followed up as if realizing something was off. This was the worst case scenario, the last thing he wanted to deal with. Even before he was never good at these things, usually leaving his former teammates to deal with the social aspects of things, the perks of being the tactician and mechanic, there was always an excuse to hide away in a workshop, "I've got some work to do in the weapons labs."

Yang grabbed his arm to stop him much to everyone's surprise and her own, "What do you mean 'not interested?' what kind of a jerk answer is that?" she knew she was getting angry but she didn't really care even as she spun him around to glare at him.

Raiden narrowed his eyes at her touch meeting her glare with a frown of his own, "It was a proper answer, I'm not interested."

"You can't just tell a girl who asked you out that you're just not interested without even a sorry or telling her why you ass!"

"You tell him Yang!" Weiss called out safely across the room, her support answered by cheers from the rest of the girls in the room, Pyrrha cheering particularly loud.

"Fine, you're not my type," he responded exasperated, strangely following through with this confrontation.

"I'm what!? I'm everyone's type, you just can't handle all this, broody boy," Yang taunted as she gestured to herself seductively, "you're just too intimidated, scared you can't even handle one date without looking like a clown."

"Whatever, we'll never know," he sighed finally, shaking his head as he turned to leave again realizing he'd been drawn in by her antics. As he exited the room he offered a dismissive wave over his shoulder ignoring the whispers of the students between themselves that he passed.

Watching him leave Yang fumed, her aura flaring around her in a burst of flames as she watched his back disappear down the hallway, "On day, I'm going to punch that guy right in his stupid 'not interested' face," she growled to herself before glaring around the room at the rest of the spectators. Taking the queue to leave the students dispersed in a hurry, not wanting to deal with the fiery blondes temper leaving only team RWBY and JNPR in the room to calm her.

"Don't worry Yang, he's not good enough for you anyways," Weiss attempted to cheer her up, Lie and Pyyrha nodding in agreement spouting similar sympathies.

"Besides-" Nora grinned draping an arm around Yang, "just say the word and Jaune and I will break his legs."

Jaune sputtered, arms up in front of him, "Hey wait, that guy is on our team remember? Temporarily but I can't just break his legs, he can probably launch me into the air just by glaring at me!"

Ruby patted Jaune on the shoulder, "It'd take more than a glare, he'd probably have to use his pinky or something to really send you flying."

"... Thanks."

"Why don't we all get off this topic and grab something to eat," Blake suggested, "We've got the rest of the afternoon off right? Why not head into town and grab something other than cafeteria food?"

Weiss clapped her hands together, "Excellent suggestion, then we can hit the shopping district after, there's a new shop that just opened and I heard its imported some designer merchandise from across the world."

"You guys have fun, I've got some make up classes with Professor Port," Jaune sighed dejectedly, it wasn't his fault the stories of the Hunters glory days were so boring even when described with such grandeur.

"I'll- we'll bring you back something later alright?" Pyrrha offered.

Jaune nodded with a smile, "Thanks guys, I'll catch you later alright?"

* * *

Separated from the others Jaune made his way through the halls, towards the lecture hall. During days like this Beacon cleared out quickly, a perk inherent in sparring and combat classes on a Friday. Start early, finish early with daylight to spare. A sort of an early weekend though most students were expected to maintain their own training regiment. However Jaune was one of the few students who had extra curricular activities, or so he liked to call them, in reality he'd simply been caught falling asleep in class and as a result was gifted an extra tutoring session. It was becoming sadly common place, and even with his improvements there were some habits that died hard.

Lost in thought he barely registered the arm that grabbed him from the shadows of an empty classroom and pulled him inside. As the door shut behind him and the lights clicked on Jaune panicked, "Not the face or crotch please!" he winced preemptively cowering behind raised arms.

"Huh? I'm not going to hurt you silly," the a soft voice reassured him, pulling his arms down, "calm down alright?"  
Not entirely sure if it was a ruse or not he opened his eyes slowly, looking at the source of the unfamiliar voice, "Oh, good," he sighed in relief, relaxing almost immediately. Before him stood a fox attributed faunus girl donning a second year uniform. Her red hair and orange-red eyes peering up at him curiously, similarly colored fox ears topping her hair and a bushy tail swishing behind her.

"You're Jaune Arc right? Leader of JNPR?" the girl inquired.

Jaune nodded, "Yeah, that's me, but what do you want with me?" he asked in return, people rarely sought him out beyond his own team mates and when they did it was usually a professor to tell him to work harder or Cardin looking to let off some steam.

The faunus girl smiled, "I'm Cerise Solus, I want to talk to you about your new team addition, Raiden Arma."

* * *

Episode 2 End!

Cliff hangerish, sorrynotsorry. Was considering continuing but it seemed to flow better into the episodic flow. Yeah~ Got my Cardin beat down in this, I'm sure a lot of people have similar dislike for him. In the future though I really do want to expand on a direction to his character, especially in relation to Jaune and JNPR.

Another new character thrown into the mix, I know, honestly I'm trying to avoid throwing in major OC's into the equation especially considering how large the cast is, but Cerise and her teams connection to Raiden are just too important to dismiss for my vision~

Anyways, until next time! 


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